Freefall
by MagicConan14
Summary: Ran has to do something to free herself and Shinichi from nightmares. Problem is, what she has to do in return is help the world with her new gift...and try to live without the person she loves.
1. An Angel's Calling

Freefall

MagicConan14 here. I've been cutting back some fics so that I can make more…but 30-odd fics should be enough for one person.

Lately, I've had a theme for each of the series' names… 'Freefall' and the next two titles in this series are linked by the word 'fall', and it alludes to a little mind scene of mine where Ran falls into oblivion. That will be definitely appearing somewhere in the storyline.

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Scroll 1~An Angel's Calling

"We already know you'll try to stop us…There will definitely be no place to hide for you. You, your family and your friends will be killed if you try to stop us with your karate," the man with silver-white shoulder length hair warned in a menacing voice. "That's what you deserve for wanting to meddle with us…"

Ran shot up, soaked in sweat. It had all been a bad dream…except for the fact there was a tall, lanky man at the end of her bed! A scream that only teenage girls were capable of was the result.

Hoisting himself off the bed and bowing, he introduced himself: "My lady, I am Reuben." He twiddled with his Kogoro-style moustache as he continued, "I am the Incubus." [A.N. This is a different kind of incubus to the one in mythology! You'll find out what it can do in this fic.] She seemed to remember that term from somewhere… "I can give you any power you like, in exchange for something you hold very dearly."

Ran, who knew exactly what she was going to do, accepted with a curt nod and told him, "I want to have the power to get rid of bad dreams." Shinichi had been having those lately, and she didn't want him to be plagued by them anymore. By any means, she would get rid of them.

Kogoro burst in just then, yelling, "Ran! Are you being harassed or -?" He immediately stopped asking when he saw she was alright. Reuben, on the other hand, had become invisible for the time being.

After Kogoro left and Reuben made himself visible, the Incubus muttered some ancient spell under his breath, the Incubus insignia (which looked like a curled psychic mark) appeared above his hands and hit Ran. It enveloped her, and then there was a bright light…

Ran opened her eyes to find herself in an elegant floaty dress, pale yellow strappy sandals and long sleeves that curled around her wrists. Just as she stepped towards the mirror [A.N. – I can't remember if she has one in her room.] to admire the outfit more, something behind her snagged on something. It was a pure white wing! She gasped in delight while her wing released itself.

Placing his hand on Ran's wrist, Reuben undid the transformation and handed her a silver bracelet. "This is for when you want to transform again." Ran replied with an eager nod.

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Next time, you'll find out what happens to Shinichi, along with some other things…

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	2. Ran's Sacrifice

The rating got stepped up because of the other meaning of 'incubus' – it gets involved in this chapter.

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Scroll 2~Sacrifice

The next day, it was time to put her new powers to the test. After stopping off at the Kudo mansion, Ran requested that Shinichi should lie on the couch and relax. Placing her hand on his forehead, she let her magic do its work…

Then Reuben appeared, so silently that Ran didn't even hear him. He'd disappeared after the last encounter, and Ran was wondering where he'd been.

"So, is he your choice?" Reuben asked her.

Ran was speechless, Shinichi was clueless. The sacrifice couldn't be –

"Yes," Reuben cut into her thoughts, "it can be a human too. So, he must be the one you want to switch in return for your powers."

She tried to protest, but her voice wouldn't let her. Why didn't he understand?

Then it hit her. He'd specified it was "something you hold very dearly". Shinichi was someone she held very dearly, so it would work the same way.

Too late. Reuben had already whisked him away somewhere. Finally, she got out some words, along with some choked-out tears: "No, Reuben. You just don't understand."

/

Shinichi had been blasted away from his house in a flash of bight white light. ('Blasted away' seemed like the only way to describe it – it was like a gust of frigid air had swept him to some other place like a wave in the ocean.) Now, he was sitting in a white prison room, complete with old-style bars in the same colour. The man with the moustache – well, his moustache was missing – was outside the cell.

"Where is this?" the detective wondered, sounding like he had amnesia. "Who are you?"

"This is the Arcanum, a prison for all species of magic users and creatures."

"Right now, we're in the human section. It's set up so that any person would go insane," the skinny man explained. "To answer the second question, I am Reuben – an Incubus, the giver of powers." Shinichi already knew the alternate meaning to 'incubus' and it made him turn away from the man in suspicion.

Then, Reuben was gone.

/

Shinichi just had to find a way out of here. He'd tried everything, but to no avail.

Kicking the bars in defeat, he decided to give up…but a few of the bars finally broke as he thought this. _Oh, finally, a way out!_ Attacking the bars over and over again with his feet, pieces of the bars kept falling until there was a sufficient hole for him to pass through. The detective ignored his mind's pleas of pain shooting up from his legs. His knees became crisscrossed with scars, because the bars sliced straight through the cloth of his pants, and he must have stubbed his toes at least five times. However, he crawled his way through, only to find himself in…another barred cell.

This was going to take a long time.

Examining his knees, Shinichi realised that they weren't in very good shape. No way was he going to continue like this.

_I desperately need to get out of here!_ he thought, and the room seemed to light up in response. He began to drown in the light, strangely enjoying the way it numbed his mind…

/

As he fell asleep in the centre of the gleaming room, Reuben peered in, realising that his captive's wounds were healed. 'Drat,' he hissed softly, 'this boy's going to be more troublesome than I thought he would.'

Thinking for a second, he added, 'He might have some unlocked potential, and that could mean something nasty for me…'

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